when i was growing up, my mom had an old printer’s drawer hanging on the wall in our living room. the compartments were filled with little trinkets and momentos from my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and beyond. i remember that every-so-often my mom would let me and my sister pull a few things off the drawer. we would sit at the front of the fireplace and play with our favorites (usually with a bit of make believe). my go-to was always a tiny metal toy gun that was my father’s (which luckily did not impact my feelings on real guns) and my sister’s was a mini corked glass jar filled with ph test strips.

to this day, that printer’s drawer remains to be one of my most cherished memories of childhood and in recent years i’ve been thinking about that drawer quite a bit. each item in it had a story and it connected me to those stories and the people with whom each item came from. at nearly 33, naturally life is a lot different than it was when i was the child that admired each of those little things – my parents divorced when i was in my 20s, my grandparents have all passed away, and i live 10,000 miles from that house i grew up in. holding on to these types of small memories (like the printer’s drawer) reminds me of all the amazing times i had growing up and how truly lucky i am to be connected to a group of such wonderful people.

sometime last year i mentioned to my mom that i wanted to get a printer’s drawer of my own and curate a meaningful collection of items from years past. to help start this, i have a few small things that i’ve held onto over the years – items that i hope someday will make it into the hands of my family’s younger generations. then even better… last month when i was home, my mom surprised me with a contribution to the drawer + a box full of those very items that once hung on the wall when i was a child. i was elated.

this past weekend i stopped in my favorite shop (rock n rustic) here in adelaide. the owners had recently spent a month in the u.s. sourcing antiques and “picking” as the pros call it. just last month they unpacked their shipment which contained several printer’s drawers. during my visit, i inspected all the drawers to find one with the perfect compartment sizes. after about 15 minutes, i found exactly what i was looking for. yesterday i attached a chain to the back, mounted it to the wall, and started filling it with all my mementos. i couldn’t be happier with it. i look forward to adding (+ sharing) more memories as the years go by.

my new printer’s drawer filled with old mementos

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i thought i’d share a couple of my most recent book acquisitions: junk genius by juliette goggin and stacy sirk + homemade gifts vintage style by sarah moore. (i also had to include in the photo this really cute little felt owl pin cushion which was handcrafted here in adelaide by fleecidesigns).

i plan to curl up on the couch this afternoon with these reads and start bookmarking some fun projects for the house, gift-giving and to share here on the blog. anyone read or completed projects from these books?!

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last month i shared a diy project with a nifty little cardboard reindeer (as seen here). considering i’m all about my home decor having some sort of personal touch, i loved the purchase + the finished product. my deer is currently hanging about in the living room next to our tree.

as i mentioned in my last post, the deer was from a new collection that the yard ink had just released. they currently have reindeer + christmas trees available in both super cute designs and plain diy (kraft + white).

i was pretty pumped when katherine from the yard ink reached out to me this week about my last post. and even better… she thought that a few of howd.i.y.s crafty readers might like to have one of their creations as well. so today i stopped by their offices and picked up 2 diy christmas trees + 1 diy reindeer.

if you’re an aussie + you’d like the chance to have one of these guys in your home (complimentary shipping too), here’s what you can do – it’s as easy as 1.2.3.

3. on the howd.i.y. facebook page, share a few thoughts on how you might decorate your cardboard creation (25 words or less -and- either as a comment or a stand alone post… bonus points if you tag the yard ink!)

i’ll pick 3 unique responses to receive a yard ink cardboard tree or reindeer. you must complete the task at hand by end of day monday, december 17. i’ll then pick 3 responses, reach out to you for your address, and then post these out on tuesday, december 18 so you have them in time for the holidays.

so what’s the catch? nothing really… the only thing i ask is that you send me a photo once you’ve done the diy. i’ll post the transformation from cardboard to creation here on howd.i.y. (due to the proximity to christmas, this is unfortunately only open to those with an aussie address.those in the rest of the world… we’ll try to do some fun giveaway for you soon!)

big thanks to the yard ink for their donation + their super cute holiday creations!

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christmas crackers aka bon-bons. these little holiday treats are something that i didn’t learn about until the age of 29, when i celebrated my first christmas in australia. americans do silly santa hats and reindeer ears on christmas, australians do crackers.

(at the risk of sounding stupid, i had indeed seen them in america before, but i always took the name “cracker” very literal – thinking that these were something you’d find in the walgreen’s christmas aisle when you were hard pressed for a random christmas gift. yes, i thought christmas crackers were actually a packaged snack.)

when i did finally learn about the joy of a christmas cracker, i loved the idea and tried to spread it to my loved ones in the usa (in recent years i’ve seen them popping up in shops across the country). i mean it’s like the turkey bone at thanksgiving – two people tug on either end and instead of a wish, the winner gets a paper crown and often a little treat. (read here for the wikipedia backstory on these commonwealth traditions.)

my handmade christmas crackers

this year while back in the usa, i decided to make my own christmas crackers. it was a pretty easy process, plus fun to custom make them to my liking (i may be biased, but mine were much cuter than any i’d seen in the stores).

whether you’re in the us, mexico, or somewhere else in this big world… you can bring this commonwealth tradition to your holiday celebration. all you need are a few staple supplies (which are likely already around the house) and you’re set.

what you’ll need:

cardboard toilet paper or paper towel rolls

tape

tissue paper

wrapping paper

ribbon or string

scissors

a piece of chocolate (or some other little treat)

another optional item on list is a pack of bon-bon snaps (they make a little noise + spark as the cracker splits into 2). these aren’t a necessity, but they will make the cracker tugging experience a bit more fun (they might be hard to find in places where crackers aren’t traditional).

making your crackers are pretty easy… you’ll first create a paper crown with tissue paper, tape and scissors. next you’ll stuff your toilet paper roll with the crown, a little treat (ghirardelli’s were my choice) and the snap (should you choice to use one). next cut some wrapping paper, line up the toilet paper roll in the middle, then wrap – cut – and tie. and… there you go, handmade christmas crackers.